Tablets are the new Netbooks. NOT!

Went to Fry's to see what's available in the way of netbooks, and the entire netbook section is now tablets. There are a few netbooks on display on another aisle, but they are all as old tech as the one I have. Atom processor, max of 2GB RAM, traditional HDD not SSD.

I don't want a tablet. I want something with the built-in protection of a clamshell. I want a keyboard which is flat on the table and a display which is 90° so I can see what I'm typing. And I want a Windows OS with applications, not apps, including a full MS Office suite, not that Open Sores crap.

I really want a netbook with a fast processor, 4GB RAM and a 128GB SSD. 64GB would be okay too.

Depot Time

Called their 800 number, they said it was fine for me to bring the box to a store instead of having it picked up. I'm on my way in a few minutes.

Thirst Games

Another day at work playing with the automation program. Automation guy was back from the land of the dead, but he had two days of very busy work to catch up on, and was still pretty sick & stayed in the lab all day. Except at about 5:30 he came up for air and showed me two magic reveals which gave me enough info to finish the projects tomorrow. The bad news is I have to completely rewrite them. In a nutshell, stupid automation software thinks a check mark in a check box is text. I was thinking of it as an image.

Lunchtime was LONG, I took the box to Office Depot where they very reluctantly accepted it, after I showed them email from corporate saying to take it to them. The manager said they have a package someone else dropped off which corporate has not picked up after 2 weeks. When I got home I emailed the person I talked to at corp asking that she make sure there was a pickup order. She had not done that when we talked.

GPS said there was a Sizzler across the street. I looked, and no, that place has not been a Sizzler in about 15 years. Next on the list was a Greek place down the block. Got there, it was gutted, workers were in the process of making it the other half of a Peet's. There was a small by-the-slice pizza place at the other end of the parking lot, I had a small Greek salad and a slice of the 2nd worst pizza ever. Note to pizza makers: sausage should not look like rabbit droppings. Cheese should be completely melted.

Checked email, and there was a package to pick up, so I detoured to the apartment office, but then thought it might be the laptop, so I re-detoured to Fry's and bought a notebook sized bluetooth mouse. The package was the FuReal cat. That saved me a trip to my apartment, I just tossed it into the trunk and went back to work.

FB was exploding with friends saying which parts they got in How To Succeed and I was surprised by some of the choices. Not the people, but the parts they landed. It's a great cast, though, what I saw of it - they have not posted it on the official web site yet. Ethel Merman's grand-nephew is in it. He's an SPF 1 billion redhead.

Home, unwrapped the FuReal cat, which does walk a little and meow a little and purr a little, but only when you pet its back. Not the automagical machine I expected. Nice fur, looks very much like Domino. She took a few close looks at it, each time walking away a foot or so to use her head-scratcher. Finally she got bored and went to her water dish. I put the toy next to the cat bed on the couch, Domino thinks it is guarding the bed, and has parked herself on the cat perch on the other end of the couch, which is one of the places where she spends a lot of the day.

The jury is still out. I hope Domino bats it around a bit so it makes some noise/motion. First she has to convince herself it is harmless.

Dinner was the last of the yummy corned beef, with wheat nut bread, brown mustard and a pickle. Domino attacked every piece of beef I moved in the direction of her face.

Watched enough of CNN to get the gist of the Florida child murder stupidity, and Whitney's coroner's report. Under the circumstances, it seems odd that they ruled out foul play. In her condition, all it would have taken was a gentle push. Face it, the last thing the Grammies needed was a WUI.

8 pm, hauled my butt to the Mercado Starbux, but there was not a single seat available, and it was about 50 degrees out, wind chill factor of below Arctic. I saw two long lines at the theater, people camped out with blankets, card games, video games, etc. Both lines for the midnight opening of Hunger Games, one line for 3D the other for 3D IMAX. I figured the folks at *$$ were keeping warm before getting in line, so I braved the cold and wind and went to MicroCenter and asked about SSDs (which are on sale for a very good price) and tried out a Toshiba ultrabook. Much lighter than the Asus, not as fast but it had the i3 processor. It had bluetooth, which is strange because according to the Toshiba site they don't have a BT antenna in that model. I may end up sending the i7 back unopened and going for the i3 if that's the case. Save muchos dinero. Or not. They want the same for the i5 as Toshiba sells the i7 for. More research is in order.

Back at SBUX 8:45, plenty of seats. 9 pm theater doors opened, no more lines by 9:10. Meanwhile this place has been eye candy central.

Plans for tomorrow:
Work
Toshiba machine should be at the apartment office by lunchtime
Howeird's night in, I think.